New York City FC’s (NYCFC) reward for an impressive 2-1 win over Tigres in the Leagues Cup Round-of-16 is a daunting trip to Columbus Crew this Saturday.
Reigning MLS Cup champions Columbus look in excellent shape to retain its title and currently sit third in the Eastern Conference — five points behind second-placed Cincinnati with two games in hand.
They have already beaten NYCFC once this season, coming from behind to clinch a 3-2 win at Yankee Stadium back in June, albeit against an NYCFC side that played with 10 players for more than 50 minutes.
Columbus dumped out reigning Leagues Cup champions Inter Miami (minus Lionel Messi) in the last phase, coming from two goals down with less than 30 minutes remaining to secure an impressive 3-2 victory.
NYCFC demonstrated its powers of recovery against Tigres, with goals from Maxi Moralez and Santiago Rodriguez overturning an early goal from Guido Pizzaro.
NYCFC has relied on a fair amount of luck to reach the last eight, requiring penalties to overcome a poor Queretaro outfit in the group stages before blowing a two-goal lead at Cincinnati with 10 minutes remaining as it went down to a 4-2 defeat, handing it an away trip to New England in the Round of 32.
Again, Nick Cushing’s side needed penalties to advance, before it finally recorded its first win in normal time against Tigres last time out.
Make no mistake about it, however, this trip to Columbus is by far New York’s toughest test to date and its Leagues Cup campaign could come to an end on Saturday night.
Columbus to win the game in 90 minutes looks like the smart money at -105, via FanDuel.
Columbus, which received a bye to the knockout stages courtesy of its MLS Cup win last season, has been amongst the goals in the Leagues Cup so far, scoring seven goals in its two knockout games to date.
The Crew put Kansas to the sword with a convincing 4-0 win in the Round of 32 before their impressive comeback sealed a 3-2 win against Inter Miami.
NYCFC have also been amongst the goals in the Leagues Cup, its dour opener against Queretaro aside, and have scored five times in the last three games.
Keeping goals out at the other end has been an issue, however, conceding six in the last three games and failing to keep a clean sheet since that Queretaro snoozefest.
All signs point to Friday’s game being a high-scoring encounter and over 3.5 goals at +198 is a tempting price indeed.
If NYCFC is to pull off a shock on Friday night, then it will need Santiago Rodriguez in top form.
The Uruguayan playmaker is enjoying a sensational campaign for the Boys in Blue, scoring eight goals in the MLS and a further three in the Leagues Cup, including a goal in each of his last three games.
He has already scored against Columbus this season, pulling one back in NYCFC’s 3-2 defeat back in June, and is by far the most likely player on the away team to get his name on the scoresheet.
NYCFC may come off second-best on Friday, but there is a very good chance that both teams will find the back of the net. Rodriguez may be worth looking at to score on Friday.
